On Thursday, October 25th the republican primary debate was held in Des Moines, Iowa. Texas governor Mike Lewis went head to head with Representative Taylor Hanson of Massachusetts in a debate led by four interest groups. The interest groups that were represented include the NRA, NARAL, AARP, and the SEIU.

This year’s primary debate was much different than the ones that have  taken place in the past. The questions seemed to lean more to social issues than the major tasks at hand, something that threw the candidates for a loop. Both Governor Lewis and  Representative Hanson started off the debate quite slow. Both took very timid approaches at each question, but as time passed the candidates fell into their clear roles.

Governor Lewis stayed with his main goal to cut wasteful government spending. He also talked about creating more jobs in the private sector by helping small businesses. When it came to the social issues, Lewis was shaky at points, but stuck to his morals. He continued to push his pro life stance, and went against the idea of universal health care. Governor also said he supports citizens rights to own firearms, but suggest more legislation should be put into place in order to prevent shootings like the one in Aurora, Colorado.

Representative Hanson stuck with his “for the people” stance. Hanson is sick and tired of all the liars in Washington, and wants to put a stop to it. He supports the growth of small business, and the constitutional right to bear arms. He emphasized his opposition of universal health care, although he acknowledged that the current system is not working either. Instead, Representative Hanson suggested a system with more choices for the American people.

In this years republican primary debate the clear winner would have to be Governor Mike Lewis. His issues and arguments kept him on the offensive, keeping Hanson on his toes for the duration of the event. The Texas governor should have no problem securing the republican presidential nomination, going on to face democratic incumbent Barry Washington.